


"What's a High School?"

by LostGeekGwen



Category: Avengers infinity war - Fandom, Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, FIx It, Iron Dad, Mantis and Drax are great friends, Mantis and Drax are slightly taller kids, Mantis doesn't know what a high school is, The Guardians of the Galaxy - Freeform, are mentioned - Freeform, as a high schooler i don't know what a high school is, because i do not care for characters dying because of thotnos, btw this is post infinity war, but also a, but who doesn't, he's everyone's dad, tony stark is a dad, who love peter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-06-19 00:10:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15497946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostGeekGwen/pseuds/LostGeekGwen
Summary: In which Drax and Mantis do the one thing Tony Stark told them not to: go into the high school.It isn't that high.Or, the 600+ follower prompt by @court-of-fandoms-and-art about Drax and Mantis's wonderful friendship as they survive on Earth





	"What's a High School?"

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I hope you enjoy! I'm sorry if the characters are a little ooc, I haven't seen any GOG movies (I'm a fake fan don't @ me). I did memorize the fandom-wiki, so I hope its somewhat accurate!

If Drax were one to use metaphors, he would have said something dumb, like how his heart was dancing the stars or something Quill-sih like that. Something about how happy he is to well… be again. He wasn’t sure how it happened. He wasn’t there for it. Wondering why it happened was something Stark would do, and he was not Stark. He was Drax. 

Instead, he follows his friends back to Terra. Half of it wasn’t bad, but, he didn’t blame Quill for avoiding it. Some parts were kind of a dump. 

But, Gamora was scowling significantly less, Groot had formed an inseperable bond with Spiderman and some genius princess, Rocket well… met a racoon, what else could he want really, and Quill was still awkward and weird. But it was nice. They all needed a Terra vacation, after dying. 

“You would think being pieced back into existence would make you less horrifying, wouldn’t it?” he said. Mantis grinned, pulling the “I SURVIVED NEW YORK” ball cap off her head. She glanced out of the tinted windows of the car, watching young children file out of a large building. Skyscrapers towered in the distance, reminding them of how sardine-packed the city was. 

“I thought being disgusting was good?” she asked, playing with the button that opened and closed the window. Up, down. Up, down. Up, up, down. Down, Up, Down, “Just like how you are disgusting?” 

“Hey, I am at least mildly gross. You, however-” he said, looking up at her antennae as the window opened all the way, “Will know who you can trust for the rest of your life.” 

“As much as I am enjoying this conversation, I’m going to have to ask you both to stop being…. Yourselves for a moment,” Tony said, butting into the conversation, manually closing the window from the driver's seat, “The last thing I need is a press conference on why I’m Uber-ing a bunch of aliens to a high school.” 

“The school is not very tall,” Drax said, “It’s only a few floors.”

“What’s a school?” Mantis said, at the exact same time. 

Tony sighed.

“Just… don’t… do anything… weird, while I’m gone,” Tony said, unbuckling. He opened the door of the car, “I’m going to go get Peter. Stay. Here.” 

Drax and Mantis looked at each other, and within seconds they were out of the car. Tony had all but disappeared into the thinning crowd of children, who were all standing in circles talking or idly by themselves, pressing at devices set firmly in their hands. Being New Yorkers, they payed the two no mind, if they even looked up at all. The ones that did, however, looked more interested than scared. A few pointed their devices at them, but never did anything. 

“Where do you think he went?” Mantis asked, staring directly at the fairly low school. Drax, however, was already pushing himself through the crowd to the front doors, “Are we even allowed in the High School?”

“After you save half the universe, you shouldn’t have to listen to Spider-Man’s babysitter,” said Drax, “Besides, Quill has been telling me to try new things while we’re here. This is a new thing.” 

"But we didn't save half the universe," Mantis said, "We died."

"We were on the team that saved the universe," Drax justified. 

Mantis nodded, following him into the crowd. Every so often she would bump shoulders with another child, and would wince slightly. Why were they all so… tired… and stressed… and sad…. And angry…

“Hey, hey dude!” a voice yelled. Mantis and Drax turned around. One of the children, not much taller than Spider-Man, pushed his way past a few small groups and up to them. He looked out of breath

“We are not dudes,” Drax said. 

“Oh, that’s cool too,” the child said sheepishly, “Be proud of who you are, you know? I just wanted to say your outfits are pretty cool.”

Drax looked down at himself. He was not wearing a shirt, which Stark complained about viciously. He looked over at Mantis. She was wearing fuzzy pink cat pants and a white T-shirt. 

“Thank you!” Mantis said, “Your clothing is cool as well!” 

“The Guardians, right?” the child continued, “That’s who you’re going as?”

“We are the Guardians,” Drax said. Mantis nodded. 

“Right, cool, stay in character, of course,” the child said, “I just wanted to know if I could get a picture? I know an event is going on in the gym, I just saw a Tony Stark guy walk in, but it will take like, two seconds.” 

“Get a picture?” Mantis repeated, but the child had already turned around, and after fishing a small device out of their backpack, held it up above him. He flashed a light in their eyes, then turned back around, grinning.

“Thanks so much!” he said, disappearing around a corner. 

“You’re welcome!” Mantis called back.

Inside the high school, the corridors were void of any person. The walls were lined with metal lockers, some decorated on the outside with posters, glitter, or pictures.  
“There’s so much… storage,” Drax muttered, peeking into some of the rooms branching off from the hallway. They were all filled with chairs and desks, windows lined with terran plantlife, walls covered in brightly-colored posters. In one room a single person sat at the desk, dropping a mug of coffee on the ground upon seeing Mantis and Drax. They walked away before they could catch up to them. 

“Can I help you?” a voice asked. Drax and Mantis turned around, to reveal a short, slightly annoyed and slightly scared man, dressed in formal Terra clothing. His skin was slightly darker than Tony’s, and his hair was jet-black. Drax opened his mouth-

“Why is this a high school?” Mantis asked. The man looked like he didn’t know what to say. He opened his mouth, then closed it, shaking his head.

“Would you want me to escort you to the exit?” he asked, with a fake smile.

“We’re looking for Tony Stark,” Drax said.

“Yea, we all are,” the man muttered, “Listen, why don’t I walk you off the premises, and you can call your pal Tony from a pay phone.”

“What’s a pay phone?” Mantis asked. 

“Its a method of talking to people,” Drax answered. Mantis nodded. The man looked very uncomfortable. 

“Its was nice to meet you!” Mantis said, nodding, “But we need to find Tony Stark, because he is looking for spider-”

She didn’t finish, because from around the corner, there came a loud, arrogant, Stark-ish voice. They turned to one hallway, leaving the man very confused, stopping when they saw four more people. Tony was standing at the end of the hallway, next to Spider-Man and two other children, “If you even think about Peter again-” 

The two other children’s eyes widened upon seeing Drax and Mantis turn the corner. They wasted no time scrambling up and running down the hallway. A few moments later there was the sound of a door opening and closing. 

“Guess the Iron Man voice still works,” Tony said, turning to Peter, who was desperately tugging on Tony’s shoulder, “At least on some people. Are you ok?” 

“Mr. Stark,” Peter whispered, jerking his head towards Drax and Mantis. Tony turned around, and his concern melted to frustration, disappointment, then annoyance.

“Or not,” he muttered, rubbing his temples, then pausing, “Why are you guys out here?” 

“Drax wanted to see a high school,” Mantis said, crossing her arms. Tony groaned.

“What if someone saw you guys? It's one thing to have your friends at the Compound, I don’t need to give Ross another reason to arrest us.”

“Ross?” Peter and Mantis asked. Tony shook his head. 

“In my defense, there was no one to tell us not to come in,” Drax said, holding his hands up.

“Tony Stark told us not to come in,” Mantis said pointedly.

“Hey. At least no one saw us,” Drax said.

“Except for the child who took a photo of us,” Mantis added. Tony’s hair was physically graying in real time, “And the man with dark hair. And the woman in the room.” 

“Let’s just..., get out of here,” Tony said, sighing, turning back to Peter, “Is your arm alright?”

“Practically healed,” Peter said, “Anyways, Mr. Stark didn’t tell me you guys were staying!”

“They weren’t supposed to,” Tony grumbled, leading them out through one of the back doors. A few teachers spared them questionable glances, but then again, this was post-avengers New York. As long as they were being accompanied by Tony Stark, it probably wasn’t a problem. 

“You said we could stay as long as we wanted,” Mantis said.

“Yea, but that was talking about the Compound,” Tony fired back, “I knew driving you around New York was a bad idea, and it was just for a hotdog! I could buy a million hotdogs to be delivered.” 

“The hotdogs weren’t that good either,” Drax added, “Weren’t even actual dog.” 

“Yea, I sure hope it wasn’t,” Peter said nervously. 

“I liked them,” Mantis said, “Terran food is… disgusting!” 

“Are they why I haven’t been allowed at the compound?” Peter asked Tony suspiciously. 

“Don’t take it personally, kid,” Tony said, “I’ve been trying to keep…. Space… away from New York.”

“You love us,” Drax said, “You said it yourself when we all got back and Spider-Man was asleep. You said ‘I really love you guys’.”

Peter laughed.

“That is correct,” Mantis added, “Every Time I sense your feelings, you have an immense amount of love and appreciation for all the beings who aided the fight against Thanos. Especially towards Spider-Man. You feel quite paternal-”

“Alright, that’s enough of that,” Tony said, opening the door, “Let’s go back to the Compound.” 

“Can I come?” Peter asked.

“Yes,” Drax answered, with a nod.

“That is not under your authority-” Tony said, but when he saw Mantis and Peter’s faces, he couldn’t say no.

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr is @peterparkerisntdead. Feel free to send prompts! Don't forget to check out @court-of-fandoms-and-art as well!!!


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